Boys & Girls Clubs in Arizona Awarded Three New Grants by CareMore Foundation
Grant provides $3,000 of funding for Triple Play healthy lifestyles program
Grant provides $3,000 of funding for Triple Play healthy lifestyles program
ATLANTA, Nov. 12, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) today announced three new grants to local Boys & Girls Clubs in Arizona to improve the health and wellbeing of kids in the state thanks to the CareMore Foundation. Boys & Girls Clubs provide kids and teens with critical programming during after-school time that creates a positive environment and supports a healthy, active lifestyle. Boys & Girls Clubs around the state will receive grants to support Triple Play programming, focusing on being healthy through the mind, body and soul.
The CareMore Foundation will be issuing the following grants to Clubs:
"Kids and teens today face a variety of challenges when it comes to eating healthy and staying physically fit. That's why we support Triple Play, to help ensure that our youth build life-long healthy habits with a firm foundation of support," said Dan Peterson, general manager of CareMore in Arizona. "The Triple Play program and Boys & Girls Clubs in Arizona are working to build great futures for our kids by changing the opportunity equation to help them make healthy choices and participate in healthy activities each and every day."
As Boys & Girls Clubs of America's proven health and wellness program, Triple Play is a game plan for the mind, body and soul. Supported by founding sponsor The Coca-Cola Company and co-sponsor, the CareMore Foundation, the program's three components encourage Club members to eat healthier (mind), become more physically active (body) and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships (soul). Since the program's inception in 2005, Triple Play has made more than 10 million connections with kids and teens.
"Even after a decade, Triple Play continues to be one of the most utilized programs at Boys & Girls Clubs around the country and it is critical that we continue to elevate this program to help Club members choose a healthy pathway into adulthood," said Jennifer Bateman, national vice president for programs, training and youth development with BGCA. "We are incredibly grateful for the support and partnership of the CareMore Foundation, because without their support we would not be able to impact so many kids and teens each year. As we exceed our 10 millionth connection with the program, we hope to continue to provide new and much needed healthy lifestyles programming to kids who need it most, and create a positive foundation for them to grow and thrive."
The CareMore Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening Arizona communities. Through its Healthy Generations grant program, the CareMore Foundation works to identify the issues most in need of attention and then directs its financial support and volunteer efforts toward improving health in those areas. Promoting youth health and active lifestyles is an ongoing focus of the foundation.
The Triple Play grants announced today are part of a five-year, $10 million commitment from CareMore's parent foundation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to promote healthy lifestyles. CareMore's parent foundation has awarded Triple Play grants in Arizona since 2011.
About Triple Play
Triple Play: A healthy lifestyles Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul, was launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services and with support from The Coca-Cola Company. The goal of Triple Play is to encourage kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A two-year study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. The study found that Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent. Triple Play includes five program components, each of which serves between 20,000 and 500,000 youth annually. Since its inception in 2005, Triple Play has made more than 10 million connections with kids across the country. In 2011, the Anthem Foundation joined BGCA and Coca-Cola as a Triple Play sponsor. Learn more about the program at http://www.bgca.org/tripleplay.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, more than 4,100 Clubs serve nearly 4 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun, friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.
About the CareMore Foundation
The CareMore Foundation is the philanthropic arm of CareMore Health Plans, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. Together, with local, regional and national organizations, the CareMore Foundation works to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that CareMore serves. CareMore Foundation funding is focused on strategic initiatives working to address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative with five areas of focus: Healthy Heart, Cancer Prevention, Healthy Maternal Practices, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, and Healthy Active Lifestyle. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the CareMore Foundation, please visit www.anthem.foundation.
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SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America
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